Dr. Melenhorst on the Persistence of CD4+ CAR T-Cells in Inducing Remissions in CLL

Jan Joseph Melenhorst, BSc, MS, PhD, translational immunologist, research professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Graduate Group Affiliations, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, discusses the persistence of CD4⁺ CAR T-cells in inducing remissions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The results of a phase 1 study examining CART-19, a CD19-redirected CAR T-cell therapy, showed that the 2 evaluable patients with CLL were in remission or being cured of their disease with the treatment, Melenhorst says. Moreover, the study applied novel technologies to understand every individual cell at a detailed level, Melenhorst adds.

Knowledge of the cells’ health status was obtained, revealing whether the cells were exhausted, activated, or proliferating killer cells, Melenhorst continues. Moreover, the findings showed that the CD4⁺ T cells exhibited features of memory, proliferation, and cytolytic activities, which seem to be compartmentalized in the population, Melenhorst concludes.